It took Leeds 93 minutes and a helping hand from Marc Guehi and VAR. But they finally found a way to win at Elland Road on Tuesday night – just when they needed it most.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side looked certain to be heading for a second successive stalemate, which would have done little for their hopes of beating the drop.

But from an injury-time corner, Crystal Palace defender Guehi stuck out a hand to block Liam Cooper’s header from Raphinha’s corner.

Leeds winger Raphinha scored an injury-time penalty to claim a much-needed victory

Leeds winger Raphinha scored an injury-time penalty to claim a much-needed victory

Leeds winger Raphinha scored an injury-time penalty to claim a much-needed victory

MATCH FACTS

Leeds: Meslier, Dallas, Llorente, Cooper, Struijk (Firpo 46), Phillips, Raphinha, Forshaw, Klich (Rodrigo 46),James, Roberts (Cresswell 90).

Subs Not Used: Klaesson, Harrison, Gelhardt, Summerville, Shackleton, Jenkins.

Booked: Struijk, Firpo, Dallas, Roberts, Forshaw.

Goal: Raphinha 90 pen.

Crystal Palace: Guaita, Ward, Tomkins, Guehi, Mitchell, Schlupp (Hughes 80), Kouyate, Gallagher, Ayew (Olise 90), Zaha, Edouard (Benteke 68).

Subs Not Used: Butland, Milivojevic, Eze, Clyne, Kelly, Riedewald.

Booked: Ward, Gallagher, Guehi.

Att: 35,558

Ref: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire)

 

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And after referee Kevin Friend consulted his pitchside monitor and then pointed to the spot, Raphinha stuck the penalty away to give Leeds just their second home win of the season.

The dramatic victory moved Bielsa’s men up to 15th and, crucially, five points clear of the bottom three.

While for Palace it was a second successive defeat and they are now only one point above Leeds in 12th.

The noise inside Elland Road was immense when Raphinha struck the winner.

Raphinha held his nerve to score to fire the ball past Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita

Raphinha held his nerve to score to fire the ball past Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita

Raphinha held his nerve to score to fire the ball past Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita

But before Leeds could do their talking on the pitch last night, their chief executive Angus Kinnear was making noise off it.

In his programme notes for the match, he likened proposals made last week by the fan-led review of football governance to the Maoist regime in China that killed millions.

Kinnear’s incendiary comments were immediately rebuked by Gary Neville and others, although it is unlikely Chinese politics will have been the topic of conversation amongst matchgoers in the pubs of Leeds last night.

Instead, the pre-match chatter between home fans will have centred around England international Kalvin Phillips and the state of his relationship with Marcelo Bielsa.

Crystal Palace midfielder Conor Gallagher goes down under challenge from Adam Forshaw

Crystal Palace midfielder Conor Gallagher goes down under challenge from Adam Forshaw

Crystal Palace midfielder Conor Gallagher goes down under challenge from Adam Forshaw

Phillips, one of the best midfielders at Euro 2020 in the summer, had started the previous two games at centre half and was hooked at half-time in last Saturday’s stalemate at Brighton.

That surprise substitution had led pundit Jamie Redknapp to speculate that ‘something was not quite right’ between Phillips and Bielsa.

In his pre-match press conference, Bielsa dismissed concerns of a rift between the pair, while warning that no player was ‘untouchable’.

However, Bielsa promptly restored Phillips into his favoured position last night and he immediately made his presence felt with a crunching tackle on Conor Gallagher, which got home fans on their feet.

Much like his team, Phillips has not been able to hit the heights of last season this time around, regardless of what position he has played.

Crystal Palace forward Odsonne Edouard takes on Leeds' Stuart Dallas at Elland Road

Crystal Palace forward Odsonne Edouard takes on Leeds' Stuart Dallas at Elland Road

Crystal Palace forward Odsonne Edouard takes on Leeds’ Stuart Dallas at Elland Road

But he looked like a man with a point to prove in the opening stages against Palace, creating one of his side’s best chances of the first half when he won the ball back in the final third, drove into the box and then fired just over.

Still, chances were at a premium for the hosts and their lack of firepower continues to cause them a real problem.

The return of last season’s 17-goal top scorer Patrick Bamford, who has been out since September but played for the Under-23s on Monday night, cannot come soon enough.

In his absence last night, Tyler Roberts was used as a central striker and he offered little, completely missing the ball when Stuart Dallas picked him out in the box early on.

Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa saw his side claim a vital victory and move up to 15th in the table

Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa saw his side claim a vital victory and move up to 15th in the table

Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa saw his side claim a vital victory and move up to 15th in the table

Palace, meanwhile, had the luxury of leaving Christian Benteke on the bench despite him netting four times in his last six league games and, bizarrely, having a Premier League goals record third to only Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney on a Tuesday.

However, his replacement Odsonne Edouard struggled to get into the game and by half-time neither team had mustered a shot on target.

Bielsa, for one, had seen enough and made two changes at the interval – hauling off forward Mateusz Klich and left-back Pascal Struijk for Rodrigo and Junior Firpo.

And it was Rodrigo who should have broken the deadlock, shooting wide under pressure from keeper Vicente Guaita after Daniel James had squared into his path.

Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha could not direct his volley on goal in the second-half

Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha could not direct his volley on goal in the second-half

Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha could not direct his volley on goal in the second-half

Vieira waited longer before he shuffled his pack, bringing on Benteke with 22 minutes to go. It was a change which really ought to have brought instant rewards when Wilfried Zaha’s cross picked Benteke out at the back post, only for him to head wide of the gaping goal.

Benteke almost redeemed himself from Jordan Ayew’s raking pass in the dying moments. But his stabbed shot behind Cooper was brilliantly scrambled off the line by Illan Meslier.

And how Benteke was left ruing those two misses when, in added time, referee Friend eventually awarded a penalty for the home side – with Raphinha making no mistake from the spot.

Crystal Palace midfielder Conor Gallagher fired his free kick into the wall on Tuesday night

Crystal Palace midfielder Conor Gallagher fired his free kick into the wall on Tuesday night

Crystal Palace midfielder Conor Gallagher fired his free kick into the wall on Tuesday night

Source: Daily Mail

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